Palestinian shell hits home in southern Israel, killing one and wounding four

A shell fire by Palestinian resistance fighters Saturday night hit a house in Be’er Sheva, in southern Israel, killing one Israeli and wounding four. Israeli sources report that at least thirty shells have been fired from Gaza since Thursday, but Saturday’s strikes brought the first reported injuries from the shells.Also on Saturday night, a separate shell hit the town of Ofakim, lightly wounding two children, according to Israeli sources.

After an attack by Palestinian fighters inside Israel that claimed eight lives on Thursday, Israeli forces have engaged in an ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, including crowded neighborhoods. At least fifteen have been killed in the Israeli assault, including at least two children.

The Israeli military has put in place a rocket defense system called ‘Iron Dome’ to try to intercept shells fired from Gaza. The Israeli military reports that one of the thirty shells fired in the last two days has been intercepted by the defense system.

Israeli media sources have reported that shells fired from Gaza landed in Be’er Sheva, Eshkol, Sha’ar Hanagev, Ashdod, Be’er Tuvia and an area south of the city of Ashkelon. Apart from the death and injuries in Be’er Sheva and Ofakim, no other injuries or damage was reported by the shelling.

Senior Israeli ministers convened a meeting on Saturday night to coordinate a response to the shelling. Although some Israeli analysts claim that the shells are connected to the attack inside Israel on Thursday, others point out that the shelling only began after a large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza on Thursday night and throughout the day and night on Friday.